Headlight construction



Apfil 19. 1927.

C. E. GODLEY HEADLIGHT CONSTRUCTION I Filed Jan. 25. 1926 fnveqlar.

A il 1927. I

pr c. E. GODLEY HEADLIGHT CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheet-Sheat 2 Filed Jan. 25.1926 nmmumll Patented Apr. 19, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,625,648 PATENT OFFICE.

CI-IlLAIEtILES E. GODLEY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO 0. M. HALL LAMP COMPANY, A CORPORATION-OF MICHIGAN.

HEADLIGHT CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed January 25, 1926. Serial No. 83,748.

My invention relates to lamp construction and in one of its generalobjects aims to provide simple and effective means for insuring a tightseal between the reflector and the door of the lamp, and for maintainingsprings for this purpose, and provides s1m- .ple means for limiting theforward movement of the reflector by the springs while readilypermitting the attaching or detaching of the reflector.

My invention also provides a novel arrangement of a hinging spring whichpermits a strong and easily attached spring to be employed as a hingefor a hook-on type of door and for pressing the hinging part of the doorfirmly against the body of the lamp.

Furthermore, my invention provides a novel door latch, particularlysuited for use with a hinged lamp door and designed for affording aspring-pressed closure which can readily be released manually.

Still further and also more detailed objects will appear from thefollowing specification and from the accompanying drawings, in which-Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an automobile headlight embodying theseveral features of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary central, vertlcal and longitudinal sectionthrough the same headlight, drawn on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 3 is a sectionsimilar to the upper right-hand portion of Fig. 2,showing the disposition of the hinging spring and the parts adjacentthereto, when the door isbeing attached or detached.

Fig. dis a front elevation of the reflector of the headlight.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a 'mouth portion of the reflector,showing one of the ears on the reflector.

Fig. 6 is a section similar to the lower portion of Fig. 2, showing theposition of the movable latching member when the doo is being latched orunlatched. 1

Fig. is a plan view of the stem of the latching member.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section taken through Fig. 2 along theline 8-8.

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of the arched guide associated with themovable latching member.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the u per portion of the inner lensring member 0 the door, showing the upturned tongue against which thehinging spring presses.

Fig. 11 is a section similar to an upper portion of Fig. 2, showing amodified arrangement for supporting the stationary end of the spring 27.

In the illustrated embodiment, the semiovoid body 1 of the headlight hasan anglesectioned ring welded to its mouth so as to present an inwardlydirected radial flange 2 flush with the month end of the body, a tubularportion 4 extending forwardly from the inner edge of the flange 2, andan inwardly directed radial flange 6 connecting the forward end of thetubular portion 4 with a smaller diametered and more forwardly extendingtube 7.

The door of the headlight includes an outer lens ring member 3 whichabuts at its rear end against the forward end of the body 1 so as toafford an inconspicuous joint and which has its inner edge recurved rearwardly into engagement with the lens 10. It also includes an inner lensring member comprising a tubular-rim portion 16' secured to the bore ofthe outer lens ring member 3, a radial flange 14 extending inwardly fromthis rim portion 16 and having its rear-face flush with the rear end ofthe member 3 and adapted to seat on the body flange 2, a forwardlyextending tubular portion 5 having its rearward portion sleeved upon thetubular portion 4 of the body flange, and a tubular forward end 17laterally housing the lens and abutting at its forward end against theouter lens ring member 3.

The reflector 9 of the headlight has its mouth portion formed to providea rearwardly directed tubular part 8 which is slidably sleeved upon thetubular part 7 of the body flange, and this tubular part 8 forms theinner wall of a forwardly open annular groove. Seated in this groove 1sa packing ring 18 which projects forwardly beyond the reflector intoengagement with the lens 10 so as to afford a seal between the reflectorand the lens.

Interposed between the rim portion of the reflector and the part 6 ofthe body flange are three compression springs 19 which continuouslypress the reflector forwardly. Each of these springs is guided by theshank of a screw 20, which screw is threaded into the body flange part 6and has its head adapted to limit the forward movement of the reflector.To permit the use of such guide screws, I preferably form acorresponding number of ears 21 from the outer wall 8 of the groove onthe reflector, with each ear extending radially outward and providedwith a perforation 22 in which the shank of the adjacent screw is freelyslidable. Each ear is connected to the main portion of the wall 8* by apair of webs 23 which stiffen the ear, thereby securing the neededrigidity even when the reflector is made of quite thin metal.

To secure the door to the body of the lamp I provide a hook-on hingingarrangement, preferably at the top of the lamp, and employ a releasablelatch diametrically op-' posite to this hinging arrangement, and alsoprovide spring means associated both with the latch and hingingarrangement for pressing the door rearwardly so as to hold the doorflange 14 seated firmly on the body flange portion 2. For this purpose,I punch an upwardly directed tongue 24 from the upper part of thetubular portion 5 of the inner lens ring member, thereby'providing aperforation 25 through which the upper arm 26 of a hinging springextends. This spring is desirably formed of a flat strip of metal andcomprises a bowed main portion 27 from one end of which the arm 26 isbent outwardly, and an opposite end arm 28 which is seated upon somepart of the body flange. In Fig. '2, this stationary spring arm 27extends through a perforation 29 and seats on the outer wall of thetubular portion 7, so that the portion 7 serves as a spring-anchoringportion.

The upper spring arm 26 is preferably bowed forwardly and extendsupwardly both through a perforation 45 formed in the tubular ortion 4 ofthe body and through an adjacent perforation in the inner lens ringmember, the rear edge of the perforation 25 being spaced from theforward face of the body flange 2 by a distance less than the spacing ofthe front face of the tongue 24 from the rear face of the radial flangepart 14 of the door.

When the door is detached from the body of the head1ight,the resiliencyof the spring expands this so that the upper spring arm 26 engages therear edge of the perforation 25,. as shown in Fig. 3. In attaching'thedoor, the tongue 24 presses the upper spring arm forwardly andthereafter affords a sprlng-engagmg door part through winch the springpresses the upper part. of the door firmly against the body.

For the companion door fastening, Figs. 2 and 6 show the door ascarrying a radially projecting lug 30 having an outwardly directed notch31. This lug projects through the peripheral wall of the outer lens ringmember 3 and is integral with an arm 32 secured to the inner lens ringportion 5. Extending through the notch 31 is the stem 33 of a latchingmember which stem also extends into the interior of the lamp bodythrough an eyelet" 34 and extends through a perforation 35 in aspring-thrust receiving member 36 disposed within the body. Intel-posedbetween the inner end of the stem 33 and the member 36, is a compressionspring 37, the said stem being so bent and the thrust receiving part 36of the said member being so disposed that the spring urges the stemrearwardly. Fast upon the forward end of the stem is a handle 38 whichprojects laterally beyond both sides of the forked lug 30 and whichnormally bears against the forward face of this lug.

The thrust receiving member has the per,-'

foration 35 in one side of a portion which is arched so that itscurvature permits the spring to slide partly upon the curved part whenthe latching member is swung to a position in which the handle 38 clearsthe forked lug 30, or a position slightly beyond that shown in Fig. 6.However, the upper edge of the perforation 35 limits the extent to whichthe spring can engage the adjacent curved portion, so that the latchingmember when released is returned by the spring to a position in whichthe rear portion 33 of the stem extends parallel to the adjacent side ofthe lamp body. A washer 39 of larger diameter than the spring isdesirably interposed between the rear end of the stem and the spring forreceiving the thrust of the latter and for engaging the body wall (asshown in Fig. 2) to stop the outward swinging of the rear stem end bythe spring when the door has been unlatched. The stem of the latchingmember also preferably has suitable means for limiting its retraction bythe spring, such as shoulders 33 which are adapted to engage the eyelet34. These shoulders are so located with respect to the handle 38, and tothe normal spacing between the lug 30 and the eyelet, that the shoulderswill not limit the retracting of the latching member when this isoperative, thereby permitting the spring 37 to cooperate with thehinging spring in drawing the door firmly rearward against the lamp bodyand the said body flange.

By employing a hlngmg spring having its bowed portion extendingrearwardly of the body flange, I can readily make this of ample size andstrength to cooperate with the latching spring 37 in overcoming thepressure of the reflector-engaging springs 19 and in holding the door ina firm closure position. Moreover, the tongue 24 provides a smoothforward face adapted to slide along the upper arm of the hinging spring,so as to facilitate the attaching of the door.

IVit-h a headlight thus constructed, the socket/41 which supports theusual lamp bulb 42 may be slidably supported in a guide sleeve 43 whichis rigidly secured to the reflector .9, the position of the socket beingcontrolled by a focusing mechanism which includes a screw 44 having itshead slidable in the rear end of the body 1, after the manner describedin my copending application No. 77,923, filed December 28, 1925 on afocusing lamp. With such a socket and focusing arrangement, a detach ingof the door of the headlight'permits the springs 19 to move thereflector forw a1 d until stopped by the heads of the screws 20, therebymoving the socket and the focusing screw 44forward also, but withoutdisturbin; the focusing adjustment.

I-Iowever, while I have illustrated and described numerous features ofmy invention as employed in connection with a certain focusingadjustment, I do not wish to be limited in this respect. Neither do Iwish to be limited to the employment of my'novel spring hingingarrangement, eared reflector construction and spring latch in connectionwith one another.

So also, I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction andarrangement heretofore described, since many changes might obviously bemade without departing either from the spirit of my invention or fromthe appended claims. For example, instead of having the inner arm 28 ofthe hinging spring project through the body flange portion 6, I may forma re'arwardly directed tongue 45 upon this flange portion 6 as a seatfor the spring arm 28. as shown in Fig. 11, so that this tongue 45serves as the spring anchoring portion. In either case, the spring canreadily be formedso that its expanding tendency will retain it I ineffective position at all times, while permitting the spring to bedetached and replaced if necessar I claim as my invention:

1.- In a lamp, a body including a radial shelf, a reflector housed bythe body and provided at its mouth with a forwardly open annular groove,spaced portions of the outer wall of the said groove being formed intocars directed radially outward and disposed forwardly of the shelf. acompression spring between each ear and the shelf, and

limit means carried by the shelf for limiting the forward movement ofthe reflector by the springs, the body and the reflector having slidablyinterfitting portions separate from the said limitmeans for guiding themovement of the reflector by the springs, a door secured to the mouth ofthe body and iueluding a lens, and a packing ring seated in the grooveand engaging the inner face of the lens.

2. In a lamp, a body provided at it mouth with a radial shelf and atubular guide extending forwardly from the inner edge of the shelf. areflector recurvc-d at its mouth to provide a forwardly open groovehaving an inner annular wall slidably engaging the said tubular guide,the outer wall of the said groove having spaced portions formed intooutwardly directed ears disposed forwardly of the said shelf and websstiffening the ears. compression springs between the ears and'the shelf,and means associated with the shelf and the said ears for limiting theforward movement of thereflector by the springs.

3. In a lamp, a body provided at its mouth with a radial shelf and atubular guide extending forward from the inner edge of the shelf, areflector provided at its mouth with a flange including aradiallyU-sect-ioned part affording a tubular wall slidably telescoped on thesaid guide and also affording a forwardly open annular groove, spacedportions of the outer wall of the said U- sectioned part being turnedoutwardly to form ears projecting radially of the reflector; a doorsecured to the mouth end of the body .and including a lens; a packingring seated in the said groove and projecting forwardly beyond thegroove into engagement with the lens; limit members connecting theradial body shelf and each ear for limiting the forward movement of thereflector; and compression springs guided respectively by the limitmembers and interposed respectively between the said radial shelf andthe several ears.

4. Latching means for securing the body of a lamp to a door abuttingrearwardly against a mouth portion of the body; comprising an car faston the door and projecting radially outward from the door; a latchingmember including a stem extending through the body, and a head in frontof and engaging the ear; the latching member being longitudinallyslidable with respect to the body and being adapted to be swung outwardof the body to permit the said head to clear the ear; a guide mountedwithin the body for guiding'the latching member: and a spring interposedbetween the latching member and a portion of the guide for urging thelatching member rearwardly of the body, the said portion of the guidebelng curved so as to cause the pressure of the spring to return thelatching member to its normal position after the latching member hasbeen tilted away from the body during the latching or unlatehing of thedoor.

5. In a lamp, a body member having an annular flan e and a tubularportion extending forwardl: from the said flange, a door slidable uponthe tubular portion and adapted to rock about a part of said portion andnormally engaging the said flange, a spring having its main portionmounted within the body and having a. finger projecting through the partof the tubular portion about which the door is adapted to rock andextending radially of the body in front of a portion of the door, an earprojecting radially from the door dian'ietrieally opposite the said partof the tubular portionand having its outer end forked, a guide membermounted with in the body behind the said flange, a latching memberextending slidably through the guide member and the body, the latchingmember having at its forward end a head normally engaging the front ofthe ear and having av part adjacent to the head normally disposed Withinthe forln and a spring interposed between the guide and the latchingmember forurging the latter rearwardly ot' the body, the guide beingformed to permit the latching member to rook s as to release its saidpart from the said fork. and the guide member being also formed so thatthe spring normally retains the said part in the fork.

Signed at Detroit, Michigan, January 21,

CHARLES E. GODLEY.

